2. Cuee – “Honey feat. Micha Anne [radio edit]”
from: “Honey”- Single / Cuee / November 27, 2017
[Cuee is a Chicago rap artist currently in Lawrence. Fally Afani writes in I Heart Local Music: Your 2017 local queer anthem is here, and we are screaming. Cuee’s “Honey” features local trans songstress Micha Anne, and it’s blasting confidence all over our speakers. LISTEN TO US. This is the track you put on when you’re gussying up for a night of raging on the Replay dance floor. In the song, Micha encourages us to “work it out,” “get sexy now,” and just “slay.” Then, Cuee (always the charmer) pops in, proudly proclaims “I’m brown skinned, I like action” and that she could “pull your girl without askin’.” We’re already a hot mess. 2017 has been such a shit year and we need this unapologetic happiness right now. Together, Cuee and Micha Anne are looking good and slaying. They are our guiding lights in dark times, and we are going to sissy that walk when we follow them into the new frontier. If this is the future of music, sign us up. We are here for it.]

3. Jametatone – “No More Ignor”
from: Frog In The Pot / J. Ashley Miller / December 21, 2017
[New 10-song album from Jametatone, the solo project of J. Ashley Miller who also records with his band as Metatone. J. Ashley Miller is the 2016 Charlotte Street Generative Performing Artist Award Fellow. He is a composer, producer and multi-instrumentalist. His genre-bending trans-modern work has been performed everywhere from YJ’s to the Kauffman Performing Arts Center, to the MoMa PS1 in NYC. Ashley utilizes a diverse range of technologies, techniques, and collaborators to access obscure facets of the human emotional landscape. You can view more of Ashley’s work at http://www.jametatone.com.]

10:08 – Pledge Break #1

Betse Ellis

Betse Ellis is originally from Fayetteville, Arkansas. She received her Bachelors of Arts in Music and a Bachelors of Arts in English, from the University of Missouri – Kansas City. She has been playing the Violin for over 40 years, with over 20 years playing fiddle and also working as a teacher of music. Betse was one of the founding members of the critically acclaimed and internationally known band, The Wilders. Betse has released two solo records, and for the last several years is recording and performing with her partner, multi-instrumentalist Clarke Wyatt, as Betse & Clarke. Their debut album, “River Still Rise” was in our Top Ten, of The 116 Best Recordings of 2016. Last year their special analog recorded collection of tunes released on cassette called, Tunes We Like, was in our 117 Best Recordings of 2017. Betse & Clarke play Ollie’s Local, 3044 Gillham Rd., KCMO, tomorrow night, 7:00 to 10:00 PM.

Betse Ellis, Thanks for being with us on Wednesday MidDay Medley

Marion Merritt

Marion Merritt is our most frequent contributor to WMM, She grew up in Los Angeles, and St. Louis. She went to college in Columbia, Missouri. She studied art and musical engineering, and is a avid lover of classic films and punk rock music. She saw Talking Heads on their first U.S. tour when they played One Block West, in 1978. For 13 years she has been sharing her musical discoveries and information from her musically-encyclopedic brain on Wednesday MidDay Medley. Marion has joined us for every on-air fund drive to help raise funds for the MidCoast Radio Project. Marion is also the proprietor of Records With Merritt, at 1614 Westport Rd. in Kansas City, Missouri. Records With Merritt features new vinyl releases, weekly in-store performances from young and upcoming bands, holds meetings for a vinyl listening club, and was once the location for a wedding. More information at: http://www.recordwithmerritt.com

Marion Merritt thank you for being with us on Wednesday MidDay Medley.

Non-Commercial, Community Radio, means that three times a year, we interrupt our regularly scheduled programming, to ask YOU our beautiful-listeners, to help us continue 90.1 FM’s unique, 24-7 programming, that is…essentially free to you. this year, 90.1 FM KKFI is celebrating our 30th year on the airwaves. While the spirit of this station is kept alive by hundreds of volunteers who passionately donate their time and abilities to keep the transmission of our 100,000-watt-signal alive. We are a operated by a not-for-profit organization, incorporated over 40 years ago, called The MidCoast Radio Project. We’re nonprofit, but we still have to pay the electric bill, the rent on our fully accessible production studios and offices, insurance, staff, royalties, production expenses. Even though we have hundreds of committed volunteers, who donate thousands of hours every year, producing radio shows, answering phones, creating websites, producing benefits, rewiring the board, setting up our computer system, we still need YOU, our listener, to take a moment and call 888-931-0901 and donate to keep us alive!

YOU are the reason we are able to stay alive.

90.1 FM KKFI is “The Voice of the Community” Our Kansas City area Community Speaks Through our Airwaves and this Program

Along with all of the music, in the last year, Wednesday MidDay Medley has interviewed 200 guests:

4. Shy Boys – “Something Sweet”
from: Bell House / Polyvinyl Record Co. / Expected August 3, 2018
[Shy Boys line-up consists of brothers Collin Rausch and Kyle Rausch, Konnor Ervin, Kyle Little and Ross Brown. The group formed shortly after the trio became roommates in 2012. Kyle Rausch and Konnor Ervin were already band mates in the indie-pop band The ACBs and Collin had been playing for years in the Kansas City area in various bands. The three shared a love for 1960s era pop rock and soon started writing their own music. In 2014 they released the self-titled Shy Boys on High Dive Records. The album received generally positive reviews and the single “Bully Fight” was featured on Spin.com. In June 2014 the band recorded and released two more singles and one of them, “Life Is Peachy,” was featured on Stereogum. On April 4th, 2018, it was announced that the band had signed to Polyvinyl Record Co.]

[Shy Boys play the Forever Fest, Friday, October 19, at 5:00 PM, at The Yard in North Lawrence, 512 Locust Street, with CS Luxem, and Mourning Ritual.]

5. Bob & Una Walkenhorst – “Get On The Bus”
from: For Tomorrow / BAT Records / October 12, 2018
[25 year old Una Walkenhorst is a singer/songwriter from Kansas City, Missouri. Following the release of her debut album “Scars” in 2014, Una immediately had “new fans. . . coming out of the proverbial woodwork” (AXS). Paired with refreshingly raw vocals, Una’s heartfelt lyrics “will stop you in your tracks (at once beautiful and chilling),” wrote Gilded Palace Radio, as she weaves stories of genuine human experience. Una told KCUR FM that her father was one of the people who made her love music. But having a famous father can be challenging: “I knew that if I started my music career here I would have a lot of opportunities, but not all of them would be because of my music. They would be because I am someone’s daughter,” Walkenhorst says. Loading up her 97 Honda Civic, Una then spent a year traveling across North America promoting her music and connecting with listeners one-on-one. She ended up living in New Orleans. Una Walkenhorst is the youngest daughter of Bob Walkenhorst, a founding member of The Rainmakers, which had national and international hits in the 1980s and 90s, and continue to this day touring and recording new music. In January of 2018 Una Walkenhorst returned home to Kansas City from New Orleans. Over the past several years, Una and Bob had performed together at selected events, including Folk Alliance International. This year the father and daughter duo decided to record an album together, where they split the difference, taking turns as songwriters for the album’s songs, written individually, and recorded together, in clear beautiful harmonies, with that extra special shared musical DNA, that can be heard in the harmonies of The Carter Family, Madisen Ward and the Mama Bear, or Shy Boys.]

6. Madisen Ward and the Mama Bear – “Walk in The Park”
from: The Radio Winners – EP / Glassnote Records / July 27, 2018
[Madisen Ward and the Mama Bear have garnered international acclaim, and new fans from all over the world. They signed with Glassnote Records and recorded their debut full length album in Nashville with acclaimed producer Jim Abiss. They performed their debut single “Silent Movies” on The Late Show with David Letterman, they’ve toured across the United States, and Europe, more than once. They were featured on CBS Sunday Morning, NBC’s The Today Show, and “Later With Jools Holland and played Bonnaroo, and the Newport Folk Festival, and the Ryman Theatre, in Nashville. Ruth Ward has continually performed throughout her life, mostly in coffee shops and open mics, for over 30 years, even recording a solo record. In the midst of this she got married and became a mom, and was busy raising a family. Madisen Ward was born in Oklahoma, and grew up in the outskirts of Kansas City, Missouri. He graduated from William Chrisman High School in 2007. Madisen’s journey to become a musician, was “melodically passed down” through the songs of his mother, where Madisen grew up watching his mom perform at local coffee shops. Eventually he began to learn to play the guitar, and poured his talent for writing into the music to create original songs. They began playing Madisen’s original songs along with the occasional cover of a classic track, reinterpreted in their own incredibly beautiful performance of two voices and two guitars in harmony and orchestration. Their debut album, The Skeleton Crew, was released May 9, 2015 and was our most played record that year and was #1 on WMM’s The 115 Best Recordings of 2015.]

[Madisen Ward and The Mama Bear are currently out on the road with The Record Company with shows tomorrow in NYC, Friday in Boston, Saturday in Phiadelphia, Monday in Portland Maine, and continuing to Charlotte, Atlanta, Birmingham, Austin, Dallas, Albuquerque, Phoenix, Tucson, San Diego, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and Denver through November 13.]

[Mikal Shapiro and the band that made The Musical II plays a Fundraiser for Sharice Davids for United States Congress, Thursday, October 25, at 8:00 pm, at recordBar, 1520 Grand, with Amy Farrand & The Like, Emmaline Twist, and Teri Quinn.]

10:25 – Pledge Break #2

Our WMM Fall Fund Drive Team: Marion Merritt and Betse Ellis

We just heard from Mikal Shapiro, Madisen Ward and The Mama Bear, Bob & Una Walkenhorst, and Shy Boys. We not only play their latest music but we let you know where you can see and hear these artists live in Kansas City and around the country. We also offer information about when the music was released, who contributed to the recordings and information about these artists. Our detailed playlists are posted on our Wednesday MidDay Medley Facebook page, on our Twitter page, and our playlists dating back for the last 8 years are available at http://www.wednesdaymiddaymedley.org. Wednesday MidDay Medley was the very first radio show to play Shy Boys and Madisen Ward and The Mama Bear, Mikal Shapiro, and the new Bob & Una Walkenhorst record. Long before they were played on other stations, we were the very first to let people know about their music, right here on this little ole radio show.

WMM Plays New & MidCoastal Releases. Timothy Finn former music writer for the Kansas City Star named WMM “The Best Place to Hear Local Music on the Radio.”

10:32 – Underwriting

Betse Ellis and Jennifer Owen on the October 17, 2018 edition of Wednesday MidDay Medley.

10:34 – Interview with Jennifer Owen

Jennifer Owen is Artistic Director of Owen/Cox Dance Group, an ensemble she co-founded with composer Brad Cox in 2007. She has choreographed over fifty new works for Owen/Cox Dance Group, including two commissions by the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, and works commissioned by Island Moving Co. of Newport, RI, Kansas City Dance Festival, Kansas City Baroque Consortium, and Kansas City Chamber Orchestra. She has also created nine new works for Kansas City Ballet’s In the Wings choreographic workshop, and a winning entry for the 2006 Columbus Choreography Project. Owen is the recipient of a 2000 Princess Grace Honorarium. Prior to founding Owen/Cox Dance Group, Owen enjoyed a 13-year international ballet career. After training with Pacific Northwest Ballet School, San Francisco Ballet School, School of American Ballet, and the Bolshoi Ballet Academy, she went on to dance with the Russian State Ballet, Moscow Renaissance Ballet, Kansas City Ballet, Hong Kong Ballet, BalletMet, and was a guest artist with the National Ballet of Turkmenistan. She has performed principal roles in Giselle, Don Quixote, George Balanchine’s Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux and Donizetti Variations, and the central pas de deux in Todd Bolender’s Arena.

“Morena” a collaboration between Owen/Cox Dance Group and soprano Victoria Botero with ensemble, presenting contemporary choreography danced to music traditionally sung by Jewish, Muslim and Christian women. The show explores themes of love, family and loss in secular music from the Sephardic, Arabic and Armenian traditions. There are only two performance on Saturday, October 20 at 8:00 PM, and Sunday, October 21 at 2:00 PM, at The Polsky Theatre

Jennifer Owen joins us to share details about, “Morena” a collaboration between Owen/Cox Dance Group and soprano Victoria Botero with performance on Saturday, October 20, at 8:00 PM, and Sunday, October 21, at 2:00 PM, at The Polsky Theatre in the Carlsen Center for the Performing Arts at Johnson County Community College, 12345 College Blvd., Overland Park, Kansas.

Jennifer Owen, thanks for being with us on Wednesday MidDay Medley

Owen/Cox Dance Group is a 501 (c) 3 not for profit corporation with a mission is to create new music and dance collaborations, to present high-quality contemporary dance performances with live music, and to engage as wide an audience as possible through affordable live performance, education and outreach programs.

Owen/Cox Dance Group’s mission is to bring exciting new music and dance collaborations to Kansas City, partners with soprano Victoria Bo-ero on Morena, a world premiere music and dance work. Featuring the secular music traditionally sung by Jewish, Muslim, and Christian women. These songs from the Sephardic, Arabic, and Armenian cultures have a rich history of being passed from one woman to another since the medieval era. Curated by Victoria Botero and choreographed by Jennifer Owen, this program connects across time and faith, exploring themes of love, family, and loss.

“I am thrilled to present this collaborative performance with Victoria Botero,” said Jennifer Owen, Owen/Cox Dance Group Artistic Director. “It’s a re-markable gift for a choreographer to be able to create new dance works to music with such a rich tradition. Don’t miss this powerful event paring live music and dance!”

There are only two performance on Sat., Oct. 20 at 8:00 PM, and Sun, Oct. 21 at 2:00 PM, at The Polsky Theatre in the Carlsen Center for the Performing Arts at Johnson County Community College, 12345 College Blvd., OPKS. For info: http://www.owencoxdance.org

Owen/Cox Dance Group presents, “Morena” a collaboration with soprano Victoria Botero and ensemble, presenting contemporary choreography danced to music traditionally sung by Jewish, Muslim and Christian women. The show explores themes of love, family and loss in secular music from the Sephardic, Arabic and Armenian traditions. There are only two performance on Sat, Oct. 20 at 8:00 PM, and Sun,, Oct. 21 at 2:00 PM, at The Polsky Theatre in the Carlsen Center for the Performing Arts ,at Johnson County Community College, 12345 College Blvd. Overland Park, Kansas

10:45

8. Stephonne Singleton – “You Are Fire”
from: Caged Bird Sings Songs About Red Beard / Glory Blue Music / July 27, 2018
[Full length debut from Kansas City based singer songwriter and actor, who calls himself the lovechild of Prince and Billie Holiday. 31 year old Stephonne Singleton was born in Kansas City and grew up in the inner-city, of Wyandotte County going to High School at Bishop Ward. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Music from Benedictine College and his Masters in Entertainment Business from Full Sail University.]

9. Krystle Warren & The Faculty – “Born In The Fall”
from: A Time To Keep Love Songs EP / Parlour Door Music / August 12, 2011 [UK]
[This EP came out before Krystle Warren’s 2012 European release, double album: Love Songs – A Time You May Embrace & Love Songs – A Time to Refrain from Embracing came from a 13 day recording session in Brooklyn, where she recorded the 24 songs live with 28 musicians including her band, The Faculty, alongside choirs, horn and string sections. Krystle wrote the songs, and produced the vinyl release. This EP contained three songs from the Love Songs set, plus two other tracks “Sunbeams” which a different version of this song was part of Nezbeat’s collaborative release “From The Huge Silence” from 2005, and “Born in The Fall” of which a different more acoustic version can be found as a bonus track on the Japanese CD release of “Three The Hard Way.” Originally from Kansas City, Krystle learned to play the guitar by listening to Rubber Soul & Revolver from The Beatles. Krystle graduated from Paseo Arts Academy in 2001 and began her musical career collaborating with area jazz and pop musicians. After living in San Francisco and NYC, Krystle was signed to a French label, Because Music, and moved to Paris to release “Circles” in 2009. Krystle played French and British television programs, including Later with Jools Holland, garnering critical acclaim and traveling all over the world with Rufus Wainwright, Nick Cave, Norah Jones, and Joan As Police Woman. Krystle created, Parlour Door Music, to release “Love Songs.” Krystle release her last album, Three The Hard Way on Parlour Door Music on August 18, 2017. Produced by Krystle Warren and Ben Kane (D’Angelo, Emily King, PJ Morton). Recorded, engineered, and mixed by Ben Kane. Written & performed by Krystle Warren. For this record Krystle decided to play every instrument and vocals & back up vocals, “playing bass, drums, lap steel, piano, guitar, and vocals directly to analog tape. She and Ben Kane recorded in Villetaneuse, France, a small town on the outskirts of Paris in a vintage 70s era studio that offered just the right, rich sound to suggest the musical foundation for the record, and to do justice to the duo’s carefully balanced arrangements.” Three The Hard Way was #1 on WMM’s 117 Best Recordings of 2017.]

10:52 – Pledge Break #3

We just heard Krystle Warren. Mark Manning was the very first to play Krystle’s music on the radio and on KKFI. He first interviewed Krystle Warren for The Tenth Voice, back 2002. Mark wanted recorded music of Krystle’s that could be played on the radio. Solomon Dorsey, Krystle’s Paseo Academy classmate and longtime friend and collaborator, invited Mark to a party where Krystle and her band were playing with Solomon on bass, in a very smoke filled apartment packed with area college students, at a huge party during a winter snow storm, in a building near Community Christian Church where Solomon lived. There had been a power outage because of the snowstorm, except Solomon’s apartment still had power. Mark waited over 2 hours, to be given a 2 song demo CD that contained Krystle’s first recorded music. The CD including a song called “Chanel #5.” Krystle has since gone on to be known all over the world, but maintains contact with her hometown of Kansas City. In the last year Krystle released her critically acclaimed album, “Three The Hard Way” which was #1 on WMM’s 117 Best Recordings of 2017. Wednesday MidDay Medley was the first to play tracks from Krystle’s album, long before it was released. Krystle even came on the show months before the release, to share music that was the inspiration for the recording.

YOU are the reason we are able to stay alive. Volunteers are waiting to hear from YOU right now. Call 888-931-0901. You can also visit us at http://www.kkfi.org

KKFI is an Independent, non-commercial radio station!

Now, more than ever, Independent, Community Media is important for our world. We are here to listen to you, and share your concerns, and offer resources, and community activities and information. Along with our stellar National Public Affairs shows like Democracy Now, and Workers Independent News we also offer more locally produced public affairs programs than anywhere else on the dial. We offer programs specifically produced for the LGBTQIA Community, Women’s Issues, Native American News and Culture, Middle Eastern Music and Information, Latino Programming, African American Public Affairs and Community News, Labor and Worker’s Unions, our prison population and justice system, environmental programming, Visual and Literary Arts, and Performing Arts.

Just remember what you don’t have to hear when you are tuned to 90.1 FM KKFI – Commercials. We are non-commercial! We do not clutter the airwaves with commercials trying to sell you something. We do have brief underwriting announcements, recognizing those who financially contribute to support non-profit community radio, but No Commercials!

KKFI has no automated robot playing the same 40 to 100 songs in a “rotation,” based on a formula, created by someone who programs the robot. We are the opposite of this. There is a human being on the other end of the phone line anytime you call.

We are The Voice of The Community

90.1 offers 104 different radio programs. 84 of these programs are locally created and produced and hosted and engineered and written by over 100 different people, who create content, and personally handcraft each show, each week. There are 143 hours each week of locally produced handcrafted programs. You we not find this kind of representative diversity anywhere else on your radio dial. Or from any singular source on your computer. It is very special. It needs to be nourished and kept alive in a world of corporate, nationally owned, commercial or religious broadcasting. Not only do we bring the most diverse and unfiltered news and information, but our musical playlists are very deep, and comprehensive. In one week you can hear over 2000 different songs played, in Blues, Jazz, Folk, Hip Hop, Reggae, Classical, World, Americana, Southern Soul, Fusion, Soul, Rock, New Wave, Electronic, Native, Local, Old Time, Rockabilly, Women’s, Children’s, Gospel, and Experimental. With all of this, you also hear the voices from the hundreds of KKFI volunteers, and thousands of guests from the community, who share their stories, while broadcasting live from our non-commercial, midtown studios, here at 39th & Main, in the center of our metro, across two states, and many cities, and hundreds of communities, and thousands of radios. How much is this worth to you?

10. Emmaline Twist – “Starcrossed”
from: Dissimulation / Black Site / August 24, 2018
[Debut LP from Emmaline Twist, Kansas City’s Darkwave / Post-Punk / Shoegaze project. In 2017 the band released “Dissimulation 1,” four songs in digital format, their first since 2016’s single release of “Vega” b/w “Moon Eyes.” The band is Meredith McGrade on vocals & guitar, Kristin Conkright on bass, Jonathan Knecht on drums, and Krysztof Nemeth on baritone guitar. Recorded, Mixed, and Produced at Massive Sound by Paul Malinowski, and Mastered by Mike Nolte at Eureka Mastering. Matched with compelling cover-art created by Amy Abshier. Alex Alexander recently joined the band on synthesizers & guitar.]

[Emmaline Twist plays a Fundraiser for Sharice Davids for United States Congress, Thursday, October 25, at 8:00 pm, at recordBar, 1520 Grand, with Amy Farrand & The Like, Mikal Shapiro and the band that made The Musical II and Teri Quinn.]

11. Amy Farrand & The Like – “Junk Man”
from: One / Amy Farrand / April 28, 2018
[Amy Farrand & The Like are Amy Farrand on lead vocals & guitar, Steve Tubbert on bass, Felix Dukes on drums, Kyle Dahlquist on keyboards & backing vocals, Stephan Jean-Francois on trumpet, and Katie Gilchrist on backing vocals. 11-song debut album was recorded w/ Duane Trower at Weights & Measures Soundlab. Amy Farrand plays over a dozen instruments, bass, drums, lap steel, guitar, she has hosted variety shows, and radio shows and has been a a member of the bands: American Catastrophe, Experimental Instrument Orchestra, Shotgun Idols, Sister Mary Rotten Crotch, Atlantic Fadeout, The Silver Maggies. One reviewer wrote of her, “Amy Farrand is a tough-as-nails vocalist making her an invaluable asset to any live act.” ]

[Amy Farrand & The Like play the Brick Saturday, October 20, at 8:00 pm, with Molly Gene]

[Amy Farrand & The Like play Replay in Lawrence on Sunday, Oct. 21, at 5:00 pm, with the Vedettes]

[Amy Farrand & The Like play a Fundraiser for Sharice Davids for US Congress, Thursday, Oct. 25, at 8:00 pm, at recordBar, with Emmaline Twist, Mikal Shapiro and band, and Teri Quinn.]

Where can you find out about what is happening in your community? Where can you find weekly locally focused specific information and news about the following collective communities or issues: LGBTQIA, Urban Affairs, Worker’s Rights, The Environment, The Kansas City Visual and Literary Arts, The Performing Arts, Women’s Issues, Native American Issues, Jazz, Blues, Reggae, Classical, Hip Hop, Folk, Women’s Music, Indie Rock, Pop, Electronica, Punk? The answer is KKFI 90.1 FM Kansas City Community Radio. The Voice of The Community

Donating to 90.1 FM KKFI is investing in your community.

(From our bylaws of The MidCoast Radio Project)

KKFI’s Mission Statement:
KKFI is the Kansas City area’s independent, noncommercial community radio station. We seek to stimulate, educate and entertain our audience, to reflect the diversity of the local and world community, and to provide a channel for individuals and groups, issues and music that have been overlooked, suppressed or under-represented by other media.

KKFI’s Philosophy Statement:
KKFI is committed to diversity in programming and discourse and seeks to create a climate of mutual respect and collaboration among volunteers and staff.

11:12

12. Jake Wells – “Water, Pt. 2”
from: Orange and Blue – EP / Sound 81 Productions / May 17, 2018
[Kansas City based indie folk singer songwriter. Jake Wells was born in Florida grew up in Colorado. Jake studied Music Composition at University of Northern Colorado. “Jake’s sound evokes an emotionality and maturity much deeper than his age of 22 would imply.” He was named one of Spotify’s top 20. He has performed on stages since he was a teenager. His single releases are currently gaining radio play in the Midwest on several FM stations.]

Last week the whole world saw KC based singer songwriter – Jake Wells perform on NBC television’s musical competition show The Voice, where he sang in the blind audition and ended up being chosen to be a part of the team coached by Adam Levine of Maroon 5. Jake Wells spent his childhood singing and playing gospel music throughout the country, all the while developing his own talent and style. He studied musical composition in Colorado and performed music while hitchhiking the States before moving to Kansas City. We first played Jake Wells on Wednesday MidDay Medley when Jake released his first self-produced single, “Roll Like Thunder”. This year Jake released his debut EP Orange and Blue. Jake Wells plays recordBar, 1520 Grand, on Monday October 22, at 7:00 PM, with Calvin Arsenia, and Duncan Burnett x RIOT.

Jake Wells, Thanks for being with us on Wednesday MidDay Medley.

Last Tuesday night, October 9, we saw Jake sing on NBC’s The Voice, in the blind audition for celebrity musicians: Adam Levine, Jennifer Hudson, Blake Shelton and Kelly Clarkson. We watched Jake’s family backstage waiting with anticipation for one of the “coaches” to turn around. At the last moment of his song, Adam Levine turned his chair, making Jake a member of his team, and moving him to the next stage of the competition – The battle rounds.

Jake Wells was born in Niceville, Florida and spent his childhood singing and playing gospel music throughout the country with his family, all the while developing his own talent and style. Jake is one of five childen, He has two sisters and two brothers and he is the middle child.

He studied musical composition at University of Northern Colorado in Colorado and performed music while hitchhiking the States before moving to Kansas City.

We first played Jake Wells on Wednesday MidDay Medley when Jake released his first self-produced single, “Roll Like Thunder”. Jake has release other singles and this year Jake released his debut EP, Orange and Blue.

Jake Wells with Dorothy Hawkins on the October 17, 2018 edition of Wednesday MidDay Medley on KKFI 90.1 FM.

12. Calvin Arsenia – “Tip Toe”
from: Cantaloupe / Bullseye Records / September 15, 2018 (KC Release)
[The first release on Bullseye Records. Calvin Arsenia who came home to KC in 2014 after living in Edinburgh, Scotland, and has released the EPs, Moments, Prose, and last year’s full length debut, Catastrophe. This year he released the EP Caviar to special guests who attended his Wickstock West show in West Bottoms. Standing at 6 foot 6 inches, Arsenia’s powerful vocals span a 3.5 octave range, while playing piano, banjo, guitar & harp. Calvin has played Folk Alliance International, KC Fringe Fest, Apocalypse Meow, The Nelson Atkins Museum of Art, The Kauffman Center For The Performing Arts, Middle of the Map Fest., The Folly Theatre. Last year he undertook a three month US/European Outlyre Tour where he has played San Francisco, Portland, Vancouver, NYC, Boston, Edinburgh, Sweden, Denmark, Holland, Switzerland, Lyon and Paris.]

[Calvin Arsenia plays Making Movies: Once In A Lifetime at The Truman, on Mon, Dec 31, 9:00 PM.]

16. Duncan Burnett – “Black Boy Joy”
from: The Almighty EP / R.I.O.T LLC / May 4, 2018
[Olathe, Kansas based hip hop artist, singer, songwriter, producer, musician, drummer. From Tim Finn’s Back To Rockville(KC Star) Blog Sept. 9, 2015 – When he settled on hip-hop as his music genre, Duncan Burnett had two missions in mind. The first: Keep the messages positive. “I’m big on spirituality and being a positive influence,” he said. “When I started, my goal was to have my nieces and nephews be able to listen to their uncle’s music and love it and be able to repeat every line and lyric but also to have people my age relate to it.” His second mission was to provide live music during his performances. A trained drummer and percussionist, Burnett, 26, has been performing live since he was 7 years old. Live music, he said, is in his blood.]

This is WMM’s Fall Fund Drive Show with Marion Merritt, & Betse Ellis.

90.1 FM KKFI – Kansas City Community Radio offers loads and loads of information about what is going on in the community. Not only does this show interview nearly 200 guest each year, not only do we play nearly 1000 different songs with nearly half of those being locally produced, but we also shine a light on area not-for-profit theatre companies, art museums & galleries, area festivals, service organizations, area record labels and record stores, the area music scene, arts scene, theatre scene, literary arts scene, political action scene.

15. Remy Styrk – “In Too Deep”
from: In Too Deep – Single / Remy Sryrk / June 13, 2018
[20 year old Remy Stryk lives in Leawood Kansas. Originally for Newark, New Jersey. This multi instrumentalist has been writing and recording music for several years. “In Too Deep” is one of four singles Remy has released in the last two years. Written by Remy Styrk. Mixed and Mastered by Joel Nanos at Element Recording. Remy Styrk released the EP Sunday, on January 25, 2018 a follow up to the August 12, 2015 full length album, Telling Stories Through The Basement Door.]

This is WMM’s Fall Fund Drive Show with Marion Merritt, & Betse Ellis.

KKFI offers 24-7 programming, and YOU (the listener), basically get all of this amazing programming for “free.” I, for one, love that I can turn on my radio, or computer device, and tune into the 90.1 FM’s 100, 000 watt, crystal-clear signal, and hear the music, information, news, entertainment, events, and stories, that I really cannot find anywhere else. 90.1 is my comfort, my special companion, my diverse friend, introducing me to all kinds of new & local music, as well as the news & information without the intrusion of commercials. It is radio brought to YOU by real people, who create these shows out of love, and are guided by KKFI’s noble mission that “seeks to stimulate, educate and entertain our audience, to reflect the diversity of the local and world community, and to provide a channel for individuals and groups, issues and music that have been overlooked, suppressed or under-represented by other media.”

Driving in your car, at the office, at the gym, in your garage, in your cubicle, in your art space, on your ipod, at your construction site, in your kitchen, in your barn, YOU can take 90.1 with you, as your companion. 90.1 FM is generally a good date. Good for a few laughs, fun to dance with, always interested in good conversation. Isn’t 90.1 FM KKFI worth a few dollars a day, or a week? So many people tune in to kkfi.org everyday, but studies show, that less than 1 percent actually donate to keep this miracle of broadcasting alive. Your support means that you will help bring this programming to folks who could not donate at this time, for whatever the reason.

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Wednesday MidDay Medley
TEN to NOON Wednesdays – Streaming at KKFI.org
90.1 FM KKFI – Kansas City Community Radio
Produced and Hosted by Mark Manning

Wednesday, October 10, 2018

Spinning Records With Marion Merritt
+ Holly Near

10:00

Marion Merritt

Today, we welcome back to the show, Marion Merritt as our special “Guest Producer.” For 14 years now she has been sharing her sonic discoveries and information from her musically encyclopedic brain. Marion is the creator of Records With Merritt, a small, independent, minority owned business, at 1614 Westport Rd. in Kansas City, Missouri.

3. Tunde Mabadu – “Amupara Ko Ma Dara”
from: Viva Disco / Mr. Bongo / July 27, 2018 [Reissue]
[Viva Disco one was of two albums that Mabadu recorded as Tunde Mabadu & His Sunrise during the 1970s, the second of which was called Bisu. By this time, Mabadu was “already a fanciful and continental saxophonist of any language,” shares Femi Ewetade in Viva Disco‘s liner notes. Originally released on Afrodisia – and fetching upwards of £500+ – Viva Disco’s euphorically funky, horn-filled six tracks have been remastered for this new reissue.]

4. Femi Kuti – “One People One World”
from: One People One World / Knitting Factory Records / February 23, 2018
[Olufela Olufemi Anikulapo Kuti was born June 16, 1962 and is popularly known as Femi Kuti, a Nigerian musician born in London and raised in Lagos. He is the eldest son of afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti, and a grandchild of a political campaigner, women’s rights activist and traditional aristocrat Funmilayo Ransome Kuti. Femi’s musical career started when he began playing in his father’s band, Egypt 80. In 1986, Femi started his own band, Positive Force, and began establishing himself as an artist independent of his father’s massive legacy. His first record was released in 1995 by Tabu/Motown, followed four years later by Shoki Shoki (MCA), which garnered widespread critical acclaim. In 2001 he collaborated with Common, Mos Def and Jaguar Wright on Fight to Win, an effort to cross over to a mainstream audience, and started touring the United States with Jane’s Addiction. In 2004 he opened The Shrine, his club, where he recorded the live album Africa Shrine. After a 4-year absence due to personal setbacks, he re-emerged in 2008 with Day by Day and Africa for Africa in 2010, for which he received two Grammy nominations. In 2012 he was both inducted into the Headies Hall of Fame (the most prestigious music awards in Nigeria), was the opening act on the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ European arena tour and became an Ambassador for Amnesty International.]

5. Still Corners – “In the Middle of the Night”
from: Slow Air / Wrecking Light / August 17, 2018
[Still Corners are a London-based dream pop/synthpop musical project consisting of songwriter/producer Greg Hughes and vocalist Tessa Murray. Still Corners self-released their debut EP, Remember Pepper?, on 13 June 2008, followed by a 7″ single, “Don’t Fall in Love”, released by UK label The Great Pop Supplement on 30 August 2010. The duo signed with record label Sub Pop in 2011 and issued their first full-length debut, Creatures of an Hour, to favourable reviews. In October 2012, the band released a new single, “Fireflies”, which was named “Best New Track” by Pitchfork. In February 2013, Still Corners announced that their second album, Strange Pleasures, would be released on Sub Pop in May 2013. The second single, “Berlin Lovers”, received widespread coverage.[6]On 29 June 2016, the band announced the 16 September release of their third album, Dead Blue, on their own Wrecking Light Records label; Still Corners also shared the video for the album’s first single, “Lost Boys.]

6. Cowboy Junkies – “All That Reckoning, Pt. 1”
from: All That Reckoning / Latent Records / July 13, 2018
[The Cowboy Junkies are an alternative country and folk rock band formed in Toronto, Ontario, Canada in 1985. The group was formed in 1985 by Alan Anton (bassist), Michael Timmins (songwriter, guitarist), Peter Timmins (drummer) and Margo Timmins (vocalist). The three Timmins are siblings, and Anton worked with Michael Timmins during their first couple of bands. John Timmins was initially a member of the band but left the group before the recording of their first album. The band line-up has never changed since, although they use several guest musicians on many of their albums, including multi-instrumentalist Jeff Bird who has performed on every album except the first. The Junkies’ 1986 debut album, produced by Canadian producer Peter Moore, was the blues-inspired Whites Off Earth Now!!, recorded in the family garage using a single ambisonic microphone. The Junkies gained worldwide fame and recognition with their second album, The Trinity Session, recorded in 1987 at Toronto’s Church of the Holy Trinity. Their sound, again using the ambisonic microphone, and their mix of blues, country, folk, rock and jazz earned them both critical attention and a strong fan base. The Los Angeles Times named the recording as one of the ten best albums of 1988. The Cowboy Junkies have gone on to record a total of sixteen studio albums and five live albums, and remain an active band for over thirty years.]

8. Blood Orange – “Orlando”
from: Negro Swan / Domino Recording Co / August 24, 2018
[Devonté Hynes aka David Joseph Michael Hynes,was born December 23, 1985, better known as Blood Orange and formerly Lightspeed Champion, is a British singer, songwriter, composer, producer, dancer and director. From 2004 to 2006, Hynes was a member of the band Test Icicles, playing guitar, synth, and occasionally performing vocals. They released one full-length album in 2005. Hynes went on to release two solo studio albums as Lightspeed Champion and subsequently four more as Blood Orange, between 2008 and 2018. He has written, played or produced for artists such as Tinashe, Solange Knowles, Sky Ferreira, FKA twigs, Haim, Florence and the Machine, Carly Rae Jepsen, Diana Vickers, The Chemical Brothers, Kylie Minogue, A$AP Rocky and Blondie. Hynes was voted the 49th ‘coolest person in rock’ in NME’s 2007 Cool List, jumping to position 20 in the following year’s list]

9. Bosley – “I Just Can’t Stand It”
from: Unreal Fire / Bosley Music / June 15, 2018
[Bosley Brown is the soulful alter-ego of American singer, songwriter and producer Thomas Mayer. Bosley has performed alongside Sharon Jones and the Dapkings, Galactic, Dr. Dog, and many other contemporary rock/soul acts. His music has been featured in series on HBO, Comedy Central and in several feature ﬁlms. With the release of his debut album Honey Pig in 2011, Bosley was born. Honey Pig showcased a talent for pop songwriting and a stylistic range from early James Brown to Waits-ian jazz ballads, all channeled through Mayer’s dynamic and powerful voice. Adopting a 70’s Soul Review format, Bosley began touring and performing with an immaculately dressed 9-10 piece band complete with a horn section and choreographed back up singers. The music and band were gaining popularity, but as the party raged on, behind the scene things for Mayer were on a personal decline. In 2012, Thomas came clean about a decade long struggle with Alcohol and drug addiction. After taking time off to seek treatment, he reassembled a new band and began writing and performing again. Seeing a second chance for a life beyond the grip of addiction, Mayer embraced sobriety and dedicated himself back to his music career. The result of these struggles was 2015’s deeply personal and hysterically fun follow up album, The Dirty Dogs Radio Show. TDDRS serves as a personal testament to loving the party and knowing it can’t last. Bosley’s 3rd album, Unreal Fire dances between the old and the new taking the vintage sounds of Stax and Motown and combining it with contemporary Pop appeal. UF is at once an tribute to the bygone days of analog recording and a retrospection of the music of that era. Recorded meticulously live in analog, Bosley delivers the best synthesis to date of his unique knack for danceable, melodic pop and heartfelt human experience. \]

10. Ural Thomas & the Pain – “Slow Down”
from: The Right Time / Tender Loving / September 26, 2018
[If life was at all fair Ural Thomas would be a household name, his music slotted into countless sweet, seductive mixtapes between James Brown, Otis Redding, and Stevie Wonder (all of whom Thomas has performed with.) Straddling the line between hot soul shouter and velvety-smooth crooner, Thomas released a few singles in the late 60’s and early 70’s; most notably “Can You Dig It”, which featured backing vocals from soul luminaries Merry Clayton, Mary Wells and Brenda Holloway. Thomas played over forty shows at the legendary Apollo Theater before turning his back on an unkind business and heading home to Portland, OR. It goes without saying that a man practically built out of rhythm would never stop playing music. Thomas began hosting a regular Sunday night jam session at his home that ran for nearly twenty years. A de facto mentor to many of the younger players, Thomas reminds us all that “If you care about what you’re doing, you need to build those muscles and do the work. Don’t get discouraged, do it for love. Even if you’re digging ditches, do it with passion.” In 2014, local soul DJ Scott Magee sat in on drums. The two became fast friends and at Magee’s urging Thomas decided to give his musical career another shot. Magee became the musical director, they put together a band, and in 2016 released a self-titled album on Mississippi Records. In 2017 Thomas signed with Tender Loving Empire and began work on what, in many respects, will be his debut full length. Diving deep into lifetime of melodic creativity, Thomas and his band got to work. Recorded in Magee’s studio Arthur’s Attic, The Right Time features the air-tight work of Magee on drums, percussion, and backing vocals, Bruce Withycombe (The Decemberists) on baritone sax, Portland jazz scene fixture Brent Martens on guitars and vibraphone, Arcellus Sykes on bass, Steve Aman (Lady Rizo) on piano and organ, Dave Monnie on trumpet, Willie Matheis (Cherry Poppin’ Daddies) on tenor sax, and Jasine Rimmel, Joy Pearson, Sarah King, Rebecca Marie Miller on backing vocals. The Arco Quartet performed the strings, and the record was engineered and mixed by Jeff Stuart Saltzman (Blitzen Trapper) and mastered by JJ Golden (Sharon Jones, Ty Segall). One might think after a sizeable taste of early success Thomas would be more than a touch bitter – yet the opposite is true. “We have to be positive if we want the world to get better” Thomas advises. “We’ve come a long way, but if you carry a grudge with the whole world you’ll stop your growth. We’re a family, all just brothers and sisters, descendants of Adam. You can’t get anywhere without an open heart.” A developing artist at nearly eighty years old, for Thomas music has always been about bringing people together. “If we play for twenty people we cook it like it’s twenty thousand” says Thomas. “If we make someone smile we’re satisfied. They’re ain’t no difference between us. It’s all love and brotherhood. If folks listen to my record and feel that I’ll feel very blessed.” Standing in bold defiance of the idea that aging is a reason to slow down and stop living, for Thomas the right time to get down is the next time someone plugs in a guitar or puts on a record. Ural is ready – are you?]

11. Spiritualized – “The Morning After”
from: And Nothing Hurt / Fat Possum Records / September 7, 2018
[Spiritualized are an English space rock band formed in 1990 in Rugby, Warwickshire by Jason Pierce (often known as J. Spaceman), formerly of Spacemen 3. The membership of Spiritualized has changed from album to album, with Pierce—who writes, composes and sings all of the band’s material—being the only constant member. Spiritualized have released eight studio albums. The best known and most critically acclaimed of these is 1997’s Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space, which NME magazine named as their Album of the Year, beating other critically acclaimed albums such as Radiohead’s OK Computer and The Verve’s Urban Hymns.]

13. Cat Power – “Stay”
from: Wanderer / Domino Recording Co / October 5, 2018
[10th studio album by Cat Power. The album was produced entirely by Marshall herself and was written and recorded in Miami and Los Angeles over the past few years, she stated: “The course my life has taken in this journey—going from town to town, with my guitar, telling my tale; with reverence to the people who did this generations before me. Folk singers, blues singers, and everything in between. They were all wanderers, and I am lucky to be among them.” The album includes a collaboration with Lana Del Rey, whom Marshall opened for on the European leg of her LA to the Moon Tour. It is her first album to not be released on Matador since 1996. In support of the release, Marshall has embarked a world tour, that began in September. Charlyn Marie “Chan” Marshall was born January 21, 1972, She is better known by her stage name Cat Power. She is a singer-songwriter, musician, occasional actress, and model. Cat Power was originally the name of Marshall’s first band, but has become her stage name as a solo artist. Born in Atlanta, Marshall was raised throughout the southern United States, and began performing in local bands in Atlanta in the early 1990s. She was discovered opening for Liz Phair in 1994 by Steve Shelley of Sonic Youth and Tim Foljahn of Two Dollar Guitar, with whom she recorded her first two albums, Dear Sir (1995) and Myra Lee (1996), on the same day in 1994. In 1996 she signed with Matador Records, and released a third album of new material with Shelley and Foljahn, What Would the Community Think. Following this she released the critically acclaimed Moon Pix (1998), recorded with members of Dirty Three, and The Covers Record (2000), a collection of sparsely-arranged cover songs. After a brief hiatus she released You Are Free (2003), featuring guest musicians Dave Grohl and Eddie Vedder, followed by the soul-influenced The Greatest (2006), recorded with numerous Memphis studio musicians. A second album of cover tracks, Jukebox, was released in 2008. In 2012 she released the self-produced Sun, which debuted at number 10 on the Billboard 200, the highest charting album of her career to date. Critics have noted the constant evolution of Cat Power’s sound, with a “mix of punk, folk and blues” on her earliest albums, and elements of soul and other genres more prevalent in her later material. Her 2012 album Sun incorporated electronica, in a self-proclaimed move from the “slower” guitar-based songs she initially wrote for the album.]

14. Adrianne Lenker – “symbol”
from: abysskiss / Saddle Creek / October 5, 2018
[Adrianne Lenker has been writing songs since she was 10 years old. Her “back story” has been well documented in various interviews and profiles for Big Thief over the last 3 years. Despite, or more likely because of, the constant touring and studio work, the last few years have been some of the most prolific for Lenker as a writer. Songs pop out at soundcheck. They pop out on late night drives between cities. They pop out in green rooms, hotel stairwells, gardens, and kitchens around the world. In the hands of Lenker, songwriting is not an old dead craft. It is alive. It is vital. With little regard for standard album cycle practice or the idea of resting at all, Lenker set out to make a document. Songs can be slippery and following 2+ years on the road with Big Thief, Lenker felt a growing need to document this particular time in her life in an intimate, immediate way. The result is her new album, abysskiss, out October 5th via Saddle Creek. “I want to archive the songs in their original forms every few years,” explains Lenker. “My first solo record I made was Hours Were the Birds. I had just turned 21 and moved to New York City where I was sleeping in a warehouse, working in a restaurant and photographing pigeons. Now five years later, another skin is being shed.” Following a two week road trip through the southwestern United States, Lenker headed into the studio with longtime friend Luke Temple. Temple put on his loosely fitting, bright orange, 100% wool producer hat and for one week they made music. The songs chosen for this collection were the songs that felt the most alive in the room. These are not castaways or B-sides. Some of these songs have been alive for years while some were written just days before the session. Some will appear in different future forms, some will not. The thread that connects these songs is not something that can easily be put down in words. Intuition connects these songs. They are a record of a time. With this collection, Lenker further illuminates to the listening public what those close to her already know; here we have a songwriter of the highest order, following her voice and the greater Voices that pass through her with an unflinching openness and clarity of translation.]

15. The Holydrug Couple – “I’ll Only Say This”
from: Hyper Super Mega / Sacred Bones / September 14, 2018
[The Holydrug Couple is a psychedelic rock duo from Santiago, Chile. The Holydrug Couple began in 2008. They released their first album in 2011 titled Awe via BYM Records. Shortly after the release, the band caught the attention of Sacred Bones Records, who signed the band to their label. Later that year, the band released an EP titled Ancient Land. In 2013, the band released their second full-length album and major label debut, Noctuary via Sacred Bones. In 2014, the band released a 7″, with Everyone Knows All on the A side and Quetzal on the B side. In 2015, The Holydrug Couple released their third full-length album (second on their label) titled Moonlust on May 12. In 2016, the band released their fourth full-length album (second on their chilean label BYM Records) titled Soundtrack for Pantanal. Band members include: Ives Sepúlveda (Vocals, Guitar, Bass, Keys) and Manuel Parra (Drums) In the studio: Ives Sepúlveda (Vocals, Guitar, Bass, Keys, Drums, Production, Engineering) Manuel Parra (Drums). Studio albums include: Awe (2011, BYM); Noctuary (2013, Sacred Bones); Noctuary Demos (2013, BYM); Moonlust (2015, Sacred Bones); Moonlust Demos (2016, BYM); Soundtrack for Pantanal (2016, BYM); and Hyper Super Mega (2018, Sacred Bones).]

16. Anemone – “Why Do I Worry”
from: Silver Star / Music On Vinyl / August 31, 2018
[Debut album. Raw and psychedelic soundscapes, Madchester grooves and nineties Pop songs, Anemone started combining these elements in the spring of 2017. The band from Rotterdam played dozens of shows in their first year and recorded their debut album ‘Silver Star’ in August with Patrick Delabie, who also recorded the first The Afterveins LP of frontman Xander van Dijck. Beside the Afterveins, band members also played in The Medics and Moon Tapes. In the record collections of the band members, you’ll find some nice albums of The Brian Jones Town Massacre/Oasis and during live shows you can hear people whisper about the Smiths.]

17. Waxahatchee – “Singer’s No Star”
from: Great Thunder – EP / Merge / September 7, 2018
[Waxahatchee is an American indie music project, formed in 2010 by American singer-songwriter Katie Crutchfield, previously a member of P.S. Eliot. The band is named after Waxahatchee Creek, in Alabama. Originally an acoustic solo project, her recordings tend to now involve a backing band and the music has increasingly more often been performed in this way. Crutchfield, as Waxahatchee, has released 4 albums to date; American Weekend (2012), Cerulean Salt (2013), Ivy Tripp (2015), and Out in the Storm (2017).]

Marion Merritt thanks for being with us on Wednesday MidDay Medley. Marion is the creator of Records With Merritt, a small, independent, minority owned business, at 1614 Westport Rd. in Kansas City, Missouri. More info at: http://www.recordswithmerritt.com

Earlier this month a new documentary film about Holly Near‘s life called “Holly Near Singing For Our Lives” from award winning director Jim Brown premiered at the Mill Valley Film Festival. On June 29th, legendary singer songwriter, actress, teacher and activist – Holly Near released her 31st album, titled “2018.” Born in Ukiah, CA in 1949, Holly started performing at the age of 8, then acting and soing in school plays and musicals and studiing theatre at UCLA. She built her performing career with acting parts on 1970s television shows like Mod Squad, Room 222, All in The Family, and The Partridge Family as well as work in motion pictures. In 1970 she was a cast member of the Broadway musical Hair. Following the Kent State shootings in May of that year, the entire cast staged a silent vigil in protest.

In 1971, Holly Near joined the Free The Army tour, an anti-Vietnam War road show organized by antiwar activist Fred Gardner, Jane Fonda and Donald Sutherland. In 1972, Holly was one of the first women to create an independent record company Redwood Records. Often cited as one of the founders of the Women’s Music movement, Holly led the way for outspoken women in the music world, and worked for peace and multicultural consciousness. Throughout her long career Holly has continued working in film, stage, and music where she has collaborated with: Pete Seeger, Ronnie Gilbert, Arlo Guthrie, Mercedes Sosa, Bernice Johnson Reason, Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Browne, Joan Baez, Phil Ochs, Harry Belafonte, Cris Williamson, and many others. This Sunday, October 14, 7:00 PM, Willow Productions presents Holly Near w/ Jan Martinelli & Tammy Hall at All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church, 4501 Walnut, KCMO.

Holly Near Thanks for being with us on WMM

Holly Near’s new record “2018” is a direct response to the times we are currently living through: including environment, aging, domestic violence and the unresolved storm damage in Puerto Rico. Her career as a musician has been intrinsically woven into the fabric of our times, the Vietnam War, Kent State, Women’s Equality, Safe Energy, the rights of LGBTQ people.

On Sunday night at All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church She will be performing with Jan Martinelli on electric and acoustic bass and Tammy Hall on keyboards. Both of these musicians play with her on “2018,” and have collaborated with her on past projects.

Holly Near’s professional career began in 1969 with a part on the television show The Mod Squad, followed by appearances in other shows, such as Room 222, All in the Family, and The Partridge Family. She also appeared in films such as Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five, Minnie and Moskowitz, and had a prominent role in the 1991 film Dogfight.

In 1970, Near was a cast member of the Broadway musical Hair. On May 4, Ohio National Guard opened fire on unarmed Kent State students protesting the bombing of Cambodia by the United States Military forces. The 28 guardsmen fired over 67 rounds, killing four and injuring nine. Following the Kent State shootings, the entire cast of Hair staged a silent vigil in protest. Holly wrote the song, “It Could Have Been Me” (released on A Live Album, in 1974), was her heartfelt response to the shootings.

In 1971, Holly Near joined the FTA (Free The Army) Tour, an anti-Vietnam War road show of music, comedy, and plays that performed for soldiers, many of whom were resisting war and racism from within the military. The tour was organized by antiwar activist Fred Gardner and actors Jane Fonda and Donald Sutherland. Near was only 21 and the youngest member of the troupe.

In 1972, Near founded an independent record label called Redwood Records to produce and promote music by “politically conscious artists from around the world”. She was one of the first women to found an independent record company. Near’s record company went out of business in the mid-1990s due to financial difficulties.

In 1978 Holly Near wrote, “Singing For Our Lives” in the immediate wake of the assignation of openly gay San Francisco Board of Supervisors Member Harvey Milk, and Mayor George Moscone on November 27, 1978. “Singing For Our Lives” appears in Singing the Living Tradition, the official hymnal of the Unitarian Universalist Association, under the title “We Are A Gentle, Angry People” (Hymn #170). The hymn was also performed by Quaker Friends in an episode of the TV series Six Feet Under.

Elizabeth Anderson wrote: It urges us to follow Harvey’s imploring words: “Gay brothers and sisters, you must come out.” Kansas City’s Heartland Men’s Chorus sang this song two years ago.

Lee Hartman wrote: “Singing for Our Lives, written by Holly Near as she attended Harvey Milk’s memorial, was the most moving moment of the evening and even more so in retrospect. Audience members, at least those from my vantage point in the balcony, stood and joined in the singing of this unofficial anthem of the LGBTQ movement. Many held their loved ones closer and most were teary eyed. Rightfully, HMC reportedly repeated this piece at the (Pulse Orlando shootings) vigil following its Sunday performance.”

During her long career in folk and protest music, Holly Near has worked with a wide array of musicians, including Ronnie Gilbert, Pete Seeger, Arlo Guthrie, Mercedes Sosa, Bernice Johnson Reagon, Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Browne, Meg (Shambhavi) Christian, Cris Williamson, Linda Tillery, Joan Baez, Phil Ochs, Harry Belafonte, and many others, as well as the Chilean exile group Inti-Illimani.

Near has been recognized for her work for social change, including honors from the ACLU, the National Lawyers Guild, the National Organization for Women, NARAS, Ms. Magazine (Woman of the Year), and the Legends of Women’s Music Award. In 1989 Holly Near received a Dr of Humane Letters at World College West in California.

Holly Near (born June 6, 1949 in Ukiah, California) is an American singer-songwriter, actress, teacher, and activist. Holly Near was raised on a ranch in Potter Valley, California. She was eight years old when she first performed publicly, and she auditioned for Columbia Records when she was ten. She sang in all the high school musicals, talent shows and often was invited by local service groups to sing at their gatherings. Groups like the Soroptimist Club, Lions Club, and Garden Club. Her senior year she played Eliza Doolittle in Ukiah High School production of My Fair Lady. In the summer Holly attended performing arts camps such as Perry-Mansfield in Colorado and Ramblerny Performing Arts where she studied with jazz musicians Phil and Chan Woods and modern dancer/choreographer Joyce Trisler.

After starting high school in 1963, Holly Near began singing with three boys who called themselves the Freedom Singers, a folk group modeled after the Kingston Trio. When Holly joined, they began to sound more like The Weavers, three male voices and one female. Near learned later of the original Freedom Singers who sang as part of the Civil Rights Movement. Unbeknownst to her, Holly would soon meet one of the founding members of that group, Dr. Bernice Johnson Reagon, an artist who would be a great influence for the next 40 + years. She would also meet and work with the female singer in The Weavers, Ronnie Gilbert.

After high school, Near enrolled in the Theatre Arts program at UCLA; her freshman year she got the lead in the UCLA production of Guys and Dolls playing soprano Sarah Brown. Because Near was trained in a lower range she got nodules on her vocal chords and had to leave the show. She entered in to a long period of silence until her voice healed. After one year, she left UCLA and began to work in film and television as well as with anti war groups such as Another Mother for Peace.

She was briefly a member of the musical comedy troupe, “First National Nothing”, and appeared on the troupe’s only album, If You Sit Real Still and Hold My Hand, You Will Hear Absolutely Nothing (Columbia Records – LP C 30006).

Near wrote an autobiography in the early nineties called Fire in the Rain, Singer in the Storm. Later, with her sister Timothy, Near co-wrote a one-woman show based on the stories in the book. The show was presented at The San Jose Rep and in Los Angeles at The Mark Taper Forum, as well as productions in San Francisco and off Broadway in NYC. In April 2004, Holly performed at the March for Women’s Lives in Washington, DC where she sang “We Are Gentle Angry People” and “Fired Up” a capella.

The following year, Near was named among the “1000 Women for the Nobel Peace Prize”. Near continues an active tour schedule and as of 2012 had a discography of 29 albums. She is still active as a performer and composer, and she has begun issuing CDs available through her website that include tracks from her out-of-print albums.

Holly Near was named an Honoree for National Women’s History Month for 2015. She continues performing concerts, music festivals & rallies. Near hosted many of the tributes to both Pete Seeger & Ronnie Gilbert, members of the seminal folk group The Weavers.

Holly has been an honored guest at several of the GALA Gatherings, a conference of GLBTQ choirs and choruses. In her work with the choruses she focuses on diction, drama, and understanding the intention of the lyric. She also appears as a soloist with several of the choruses and many of her songs have been arranged for choral singing.

In 2018, Holly released a new recording called, 2018 reflecting some of the issues of the day including environment, aging, domestic violence and the unresolved storm damage in Puerto Rico. In October of 2018, a documentary film about Near’s life and work made by award winning director Jim Brown premiered at the Mill Valley Film Festival and received standing ovations and high acclaim.

As a result of her travels in the Pacific with the FTA show, Near became a feminist, linking international feminism and anti-war activism. In 1976, Near came out as a lesbian and began a 3-year relationship with musician Meg Christian. Near was probably the first out lesbian to be interviewed in People Magazine. She added LGBT issues to her international peace work as she continued to present social change music around the world and at home. Although Holly was one of the most visible artists in the lesbian community, she was also becoming aware that “monogamous” defined her sexuality more than any other title.

Near is dedicated to the rights of LGBTQ+ communities and works to create a cultural forum for diversity. Near writes, “For many, sexual identity and/or gender identity is the primary door through which they walk. It is what politicized them. It is what feeds their emotional and spiritual perspectives. I totally honor this. Even though sexual preference is maybe 5th or 10th on my personal list of priorities now, I will always work for all of us to have self determination over our bodies, our identities, our relationship choices.”

Near spent a year traveling across the US camping out of her car and staying with friends. She went to Argentina and Chile to study & write. She currently rents a 1 bedroom apartment in Sonoma County, Ca. and she spends time in NYC. She drives a 2003 VW. “auntie” & “grandma” to several young people even though Near never had children.

The Bold Ones: The Senator, Sylvia – in the episode “Power Play” (1970)
Room 222, Esther – in the episode “The Lincoln Story” (1970)
All in the Family, Mona – in the episode “Gloria Has a Belly Full” (1971)
The Partridge Family, Phyllis – in the episode “The Selling of the Partridges” (1973)
L.A. Law, Lucille Skerritt – in the episode “Spleen It to Me, Lucy” (1991)

Earlier this month a new documentary film about Holly Near’s life called “Holly Near Singing For Our Lives” from award winning director Jim Brown premiered at the Mill Valley Film Festival.

19. Holly Near – “Singing For Our Lives”
from And Still We Sing: The Outspoken Collection / Calico Tracks Music / Sept 17, 2002
[Written in the immediate wake of Harvey Milk’s assassination in 1978. “Singing For Our Lives” appears in Singing the Living Tradition, the official hymnal of the Unitarian Universalist Association, under the title “We Are A Gentle, Angry People” (Hymn #170). It was also performed by Quaker Friends in an episode of the TV series Six Feet Under.]

20. Leela James – “A Change Is Gonna Come”
from: A Change Is Gonna Come / Warner Brothers – WEA / 2005
[Ms. James first burst onto the scene with her 2006 debut album A Change is Gonna Come, introducing audiences to her considerable vocal chops and garnering nominations for Outstanding New Artist at the NAACP Image Awards and Best R&B/Soul or Rap New Artist of 2008 at the Soul Train Music Awards. James has gone on to record three subsequent albums including My Soul, which reached #7 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip Hop Albums Chart and #37 on the Billboard 200 chart, and earned acclaim from critics for her songwriting skills. Fall For You has similarly climbed the charts, its single by the same name reaching the top 15 on the Urban AC charts in 2014/15.]

Next week on October 17, Jennifer Owen of Owen Cox Dance Ensemble joins us to share information about their latest production, “Morena” with soprano Victoria Botero October 20 – 21 at Polsky Theatre at Johnson County Community College. Also Jake Wells joins us to share information about his show at recordBar, Monday October 22 with Calvin Arsenia & Duncan Burnett. Plus Marion Merritt and Betse Ellis join me as Guest Co-Hosts for our Fall Fund Drive to encourage you our wonderful listeners to donate to the Voice of The Community – 90.1 FM KKFI – Kansas City Community Radio.

Our Script/Playlist is a “cut and paste” of information.
Sources for notes: artist’s websites, bios, wikipedia.org

2. U.S. Girls – “Velvet 4 Sale”
from: In a Poem Unlimited / 4AD / February 16, 1979
[6th studio album from U.S. Girls, the recording moniker of American-Canadian musician Meghan Remy. Formed in the United States in 2007 as a noise-pop project, Remy later moved the band to Toronto after marrying Canadian musician Max “Slim Twig” Turnbull. She released music on a variety of independent labels in both the United States and Canada before signing to 4AD in 2015. Her first record for that label, Half Free, was released the same year. Half Free garnered a Juno Award nomination for Alternative Album of the Year at the Juno Awards of 2016, and was a shortlisted finalist for the 2016 Polaris Music Prize. In a Poem Unlimited is her follow up and second release on 4AD.]

3. Sunny War – “If It Wasn’t Broken”
from: With the Sun / Org Music – Hen House Studios / Feb. 2, 2018
[“Los Angeles-based singer, songwriter and guitarist Sunny War (née Sydney Lyndella Ward) was born to a single mom in Nashville. She had what’s she’s described as a nomadic childhood, moving around from Michigan, Colorado, and living on the streets of San Francisco. Now in her mid-20s, War settled down in Los Angeles as a teenager, and became known for her street playing in Venice Beach. War is a fantastic guitar player. She learned her plucking style by playing “Blackbird” by The Beatles, and by falling in love with the blues. “I feel like I am a blues guitarist, but I don’t think I’m a blues artist,” she says. “I only use the scales and techniques that I know, and the only time I was trained in music was on blues guitar. I really love Elizabeth Cotten and Mississippi John Hurt,” says War.” – from NPR Music]

4. Hembree – “Continents”
from: Kitsuné America 5, the NBA Edition / Kitsuné Musique / February 15. 2018
[Kitsuné is a French record label and clothing designer. Hembree formed in November of 2015, band members include: Isaac Flynn, Garrett Childers, and Eric Davis. Their single “Had It All” was released July 26, 2017. Hembree released their debut EP, Had It All on Ribbon Music on November 3. 2017, engineered by: Isaac Flynn and Hembree. Produced by: Eric Hillman and Hembree. Mixed by: Joe Visciano. Mastered by: TW Walsh. Hembree played several North American cities opening for JR JR.]

[Hembree plays The Granada Theatre in Lawrence on Sat, April 28, with Dream Girl, and Y God Y]

5. Car Seat Headrest – “My Boy (Twin Fantasy)”
from: Twin Fantasy/ Matador / February 16, 2018
[Twin Fantasy (Face to Face) is the eleventh studio album by indie rock band Car Seat Headrest, released on February 16, 2018. It is a complete re-recording and reworking of the band’s sixth studio album, Twin Fantasy, released in 2011. Originally a started as a solo recording project by 26 year old, Will Toledo, in Leesburg, Virginia. Toledo chose the name “Car Seat Headrest” after recording the vocals of his first albums in the back seat of his car, for privacy. Car Seat Headrest released 12 albums on Bandcamp. Toledo’s production has gradually grown less lo-fi, but he still remains an effective example of the DIY ethic. Toledo saw a large influx of new fans with his 2011 release Twin Fantasy, which has become the most popular of his self-released albums. In September 2015, Car Seat Headrest announced on his Facebook page that he had signed an album deal with Matador Records. In October 2015, Car Seat Headrest released the compilation album, Teens of Style under the label. This was his first album that was not self-released via Bandcamp. The new album, Teens of Denial, was created with traditional studio processes. Car Seat Headrest is currently on tour in the Northwest, and after a May 8 show in Brooklyn, the band travels to Europe for dates in May and then will be back touring the state through June and July.]

6. Joy Zimmerman – “Say My Name (For Camille Claudel)”
from: Say My Name / Joy Zimmerman / April 23, 2016
[KC based Joy Zimmerman is singer – songwriter who performs solo, and as a duo with Jimmy Dykes, and also with a full band. Joy began playing violin before walking to kindergarten. She played classical music and sang in choirs her whole life until deciding to try her hand at guitar. Playing a chordal instrument led to the thrill of songwriting and the discovery of her solo voice. Joy has five albums of original music–two recorded and co-produced with Jimmy Dykes in Kansas City at Weights and Measures Soundlab and three recorded and produced by Fett in Nashville at Azalea Studios. Her songwriting awards include American Songwriter Lyric Contest Honorable Mention and five Walnut Valley Festival New Song Showcase wins. ]

7. The Roseline – “Hurry Up and Wait”
from: Blood / King Forward Revords / September 29, 2017
[From the 5th album of the Lawrence, Kansas, based alt-country, Americana, rock band, formed by Colin Halliburton with friends in 2005. The Roseline has been through dozens of lineup changes. The current lineup includes: Colin Halliburton on guitar & vocals; Heidi Gluck on bass & vocals, Ehren Starks on keyboards, Kris Losure on guitar, Jeff Jackson on pedal steel & guitar, and Jim Piller on drums. Roseline released their last album, Townie, on June 19, 2015. More info at: http://www.roselinemusic.com]

8. Tom Petty – “Yer So Bad”
from: Full Moon Fever / MCA / April 24, 1989
[“Yer So Bad” is a song co-written and recorded by Tom Petty. It was released in 1990 as the fifth single from his first solo album Full Moon Fever, It features contributions from members of his band the Heartbreakers, notably Mike Campbell, as well as Jeff Lynne, Roy Orbison (who died prior to its release), and George Harrison, Petty’s bandmates in the Traveling Wilburys.The record shows Petty exploring his musical roots with nods to his influences. The songwriting is mainly collaborations between Petty and Lynne, who was also a producer on the album. The album became a commercial and critical success peaking at No. 3 on the U.S. Billboard 200 and being certified 5× platinum in the United States and 6× platinum in Canada. Thomas Earl Petty was born Oct 20, 1950 and tragically died on Oct 2, 2017. Tom Petty was a singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, and actor. He was the lead singer of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, formed in 1976. He previously led the band Mudcrutch. He was also a co-founder of the late 1980s supergroup the Traveling Wilburys. In his career, he sold more than 80 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling music artists of all time. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001. Tom Petty release 3 solo records, 13 albums with The Heartbreakers, and two albums with The Traveling Wilburys.]

[Friday March 2, at 9:00 at recordBar, 1520 Grand Ave The Cody Wyoming Deal present Heartbroken: A Tribute to Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers. The Deal is a semi revolving lineup of some of the best KC musicians Kansas City who has served as a backing band for Alejandro Escovedo, and thrown an all star tribute to The Rolling Stones “Exile on Main Street.” This time out, The Deal consists of: Cody Wyoming on guitar & vocals, JB Moreland on guitar & Vocals, Erik Voeks on Bass & vocals, Matt Richey on drums, Lin Buck on keyboards, and Katie Gilchrist on percussion & vocals.]

10:30 – Underwriting

9. The Matchsellers – “BLUEGRASTRONAUTS”
from: BLUEGRASTRONAUTS / The Matchsellers / March 16, 2018
[3rd full length release from classically trained violinist Julie Bates from Kansas City, and a Chicago blues guitarist from Warsaw, Indiana, Andrew Morris. The Matchsellers have traveled the US and Europe developing their brand of off the wall bluegrass & old-time music. In 2017 they began collaborating with two of the Midwest’s finest musicians, Chad Graves a dobro player that has been featured in Rolling Stone and The Bluegrass Situation, and Betsey Beymer a much sought after bassist from Lakin, KS.]

[The Matchsellers play a special Bluegrastronauts Release Show on Thursday, March 15, at 7:00 PM at Westport Coffee House, 4010 Pennsylvania Ave, KCMO.]

10:36 – Interview with The Matchsellers

The Matchsellers

Julie Bates is a classically trained violinist from Kansas City. Andrew Morris is a Chicago blues guitarist from Warsaw, Indiana. They met in Leipzig, Germany. During their year of living in the former East Germany, the pair began reanalyzing the songs of their homeland, and developed a tight yet gritty bluegrass style. In the summer of 2013 they left their jobs to hit the road and haven’t looked back. In late 2014 they released their debut full length recording, and followed that up with their second release, “Songs We Made Up” in 2016. Tha Matchsellers are back in our 90.1 FM Studios to share music and information from their newest album, BLUEGRASTRONAUTS. The Matchsellers play a special Bluegrastronauts Release Show on Thursday, March 15, at 7:00 PM at Westport Coffee House, 4010 Pennsylvania Ave, KCMO.

Julie Bates and Andrew Morris thanks for being with us on Wednesday MidDay Medley.

The Matchsellers & The Breakfast Sides present a new CD of Interstellar Old-time music entitled “Bluegrastronauts” Bluegrastronauts is old-time in outer space. It’s a far away galaxy as close as your first cousin. It’s a 100,000 mile an hour horse-and-buggy.

Since 2013 Andrew Morris and Julie Bates, better known as the Matchsellers, have traveled the US and Europe developing their brand of off the wall bluegrass & old-time music. In 2017 they began collaborating with two of the Midwest’s finest musicians, Chad Graves and Betsey Beymer. Graves is one of the country’s finest dobro players and has been featured in high-profile publications such as Rolling Stone, The Bluegrass Situation and many others. Beymer is a sought after bassist from Lakin, KS.

Together the 4-piece combines absurdity, authenticity and excellent musicianship to create a performance that is representative of the present age. They are pleasantly stuck between the best aspects of bygone years and the best of the future.

10:48

Julie Bates and Andrew Morris of The Matchsellers on the February 28, 2018 edition of Wednesday MidDay Medley on KKFI 90.1 FM.

10. The Matchsellers – “Until You Came To Mind” (Live)
Also available on: BLUEGRASTRONAUTS / The Matchsellers / March 16, 2018

The Matchsellers play a special Bluegrastronauts Release Show on Thursday, March 15, at 7:00 PM at Westport Coffee House, 4010 Pennsylvania Ave, KCMO.

10:57

Julie Bates and Andrew Morris of The Matchsellers on the February 28, 2018 edition of Wednesday MidDay Medley on KKFI 90.1 FM.

11. The Matchsellers – “Stars in Your Eyes” (Live)
Also available on: BLUEGRASTRONAUTS / The Matchsellers / March 16, 2018

11:00 – Station ID

12. Vigil and Thieves – “heroin & automobiles”
from: heroin & automobiles – Single / Independent / July 25, 2017
[Vigil and Thieves is a Kansas City indie alternative quartet formed in early 2014. Sarah Storm on vocals & guitar & keys, Steph Castor on guitar, Matthew Muckenthaler on bass , Andrew Flaherty on drums. Recorded at Vibe Studios in Bedford Heights, Ohio, engineered by John Burke. Lyrics by Sarah Storm and Music by Vigil and Thieves. Previously described as “grandiose” with a “heartbreaking heaviness,” the band has honed in on dynamic and lyrically-driven song structures that have been compared to live poetry. Neverland embodies every adventure the band has collectively taken part in.]

[Vigil and Thieves play The MidCoast Takeover Fundraiser #3, Saturday, March 3, at The Brick, with The Travel Guide, and The Almighty Trouble Brothers.]

13. Screaming Females – “I’ll Make You Sorry”
from: All At Once / Don Giovanni Records / February 23, 2018
[Screaming Females is an American indie rock band, from New Brunswick, New Jersey. They have released seven full-length albums. The band comprises Marissa Paternoster on guitar and vocals, Jarrett Dougherty on drums, and King Mike on bass. Mike and Marissa formed a band in high school under the name Surgery On TV. After several lineup changes they finally decided on the trio and a name change to Screaming Females. The Screaming Females got their start in the basement show scene of New Brunswick, NJ.[citation needed] Shows are held in the houses of various bands, students, and residents, so people under 21 can attend. The band has gone on to achieve success with a wider exposure, having been featured on NPR, Last Call with Carson Daly, and MTV. Screaming Females have played with bands such as Garbage, Throwing Muses, Dinosaur Jr., The Dead Weather, Arctic Monkeys, Ted Leo & The Pharmacists, JEFF the Brotherhood, Little Lungs, Cheeky, The Ergs, Shellshag, The Measure.In 2012 Marissa Paternoster was named the 77th greatest guitarist of all time by Spin magazine.]

11:10 – Underwriting

14. The People’s Liberation Big Band – “The Council of Mice”
from: The People’s Liberation Big Band / Tzigane / November 7, 2010 (play :45 of song)
[Recipient of the 2010 Charlotte Street Generative Performing Award, Brad Cox is founder of The People’s Liberation Big Band of Greater Kansas City.]

[The Brad Cox Octet plays The Ship, Thursday, March 1, at 9:30 PM]

[The People’s Liberation Big Band of Greater Kansas City play recordBar, 1520 Grand Ave. on Sunday, March 4, at 7:00 PM as part of Jeff Harshbarger’s Alternative Jazz Series.]

Our next guests include: Poet Jen Harris a professional public speaker, spoken word poet, activist, published author, founder and former host of Kansas City Poetry Slam. Nationally recognized Jen Harris works as an advocate to incorporate spoken word poetry as a form of peer-based mental health therapy.

Siobhan McLaughlin Lesley is the Executive Director for Gilda’s Club Kansas City, an organization providing education and support to anyone with a cancer impact. Siobhan has over two decades of experience in providing marketing communications and development leadership to some of Kansas City’s most successful and visible marketing communications companies, as well as civic and arts organizations. Prior to joining Gilda’s Club Kansas City, Siobhan served as vice president and director of client services at Walz Tetrick Advertising and as president and COO at Valentine Radford.

Jen Harris and Siobhan McLaughlin Lesley join us to share information about, Collective: Our Stories of Cancer, a multi-disciplinary production that provides an insightful experience into life with cancer. The performance features original choreography by Jennifer Owen, music by Stacy Busch, and poetry by Jen Harris, inspired by members of Gilda’s Club who shared their stories of cancer. Performances are Friday, and Saturday, March 2 and 3 at 7:30 PM, and Sunday, March 4 at 2:00 PM, at La Esquina Gallery, 1000 W. 25th St in KC’s historic Westside. For more info you can visit: http://www.owencoxdance.org.

Jen Harris and Siobhan McLaughlin Lesley thanks for being with us on Wednesday MidDay Medley

In 2018, Gilda’s Club Kansas City is hoping to raise awareness of the incidence of cancer in the local community and the positive benefits of education, support and self-advocacy. A new way of raising awareness has been brought to the fold through the multi-disciplinary production Collective: Our Stories of Cancer. Art connects people in a special and intimate way. Collective is a production that seeks to capitalize on that, celebrating those impacted by cancer, serving to unite those who have or are currently experiencing cancer, while embracing diversity and instilling hope.

The overview of Gilda’s Club… created in honor of Gilda Radner

Gilda’s Club is a community organization for people living with cancer, their families and friends. Local chapters provide meeting places where those living with cancer, their families, and friends can join with others to build emotional and social support as a supplement to medical care. Free of charge and nonprofit, Gilda’s Club chapters offer support and networking groups, lectures, workshops and social events in a nonresidential, homelike setting. The club was named in tribute to an original Saturday Night Live cast member Gilda Radner, who died of ovarian cancer in 1989. In 2009, Gilda’s Club merged with The Wellness Community to form the Cancer Support Community, although local branches generally opted to retain the name Gilda’s Club.

Gilda’s Club was founded by Joanna Bull, Radner’s cancer psychotherapist along with Radner’s widower, Gene Wilder (himself a cancer survivor) and broadcaster Joel Siegel (who died after a long battle with the disease). The first club opened in New York City in 1995, after a long fundraising campaign that included movie trailers featuring Wilder in theaters around the country. The organization took its former name from Radner’s comment that cancer gave her “membership to an elite club I’d rather not belong to.” Radner’s story can be read in her book, It’s Always Something.

In July 2009, Gilda’s Club Worldwide merged with The Wellness Community, another established cancer support organization to create the Cancer Support Community (CSC). As of 2012, there were over 20 active local affiliates of Gilda’s Club. Although some local affiliates of Gilda’s Club and The Wellness Community have retained their names, many affiliates have adopted the name Cancer Support Community following the merger. The proposed name change caused controversy in some communities. The national organization introduced a web-based diagnostic “distress screening” tool which led the Pittsburgh Gilda’s Club to change its name and sever its ties with the national organization because of a disagreement over requirements to offer the screening tool to all patients.

The performance will feature original choreography by Jennifer Owen, music by Stacy Busch, and poetry by Jen Harris, inspired by members of Gilda’s Club who shared their stories of cancer.

“The Intro/The Tale of Captain Bill Brockway”

Musical composer – Stacy Busch is a multimedia artist and performer. Stacy is the founder and president of No Divide KC, an arts and social justice non-profit that creates artistic events for various social causes. Stacy’s work has been performed throughout the country as well as in France and Iceland.

Jen Harris and Siobhan McLaughlin Lesley have joined us to share information about, Collective: Our Stories of Cancer, a multi-disciplinary production that provides an insightful experience into life with cancer.

The performance will feature original choreography by Jennifer Owen, music by Stacy Busch, and poetry by Jen Harris, inspired by members of Gilda’s Club who shared their stories of cancer.

The work will be performed by Jen Harris, Stacy Busch, soprano Liz Pearse, and five dancers of Owen/Cox Dance Group. Dancers include Megan Buckley, Felicia McBride, Emily Mushinski, Logan Pachciarz, and Christopher Page-Sanders.

Siobhan has served on a variety of non-profit boards in the arts and social services sectors. Currently, she serves on the Board of Directors of The Kansas City Ballet, Goodwill Industries of Western Missouri and Eastern Kansas, The Health Care Foundation’s Community Advisory Committee, the Mayor’s Task Force on Progress and Kansas City Friends of Alvin Ailey. She is also a trustee of Pembroke Hill School.
Siobhan has her master’s degree from the University of Kansas and a bachelor’s degree from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee.

Jen Harris and Siobhan McLaughlin Lesley Thank you for being with us on WMM

Collective: Our Stories of Cancer, a multi-disciplinary production featuring original choreography by Jennifer Owen, music by Stacy Busch, and poetry by Jen Harris, inspired by members of Gilda’s Club is being publicly presented this Friday, and Saturday, March 2 and 3 at 7:30 PM, and Sunday, March 4 at 2:00 PM, at La Esquina Gallery, 1000 W. 25th St in Kansas City’s historic Westside. For info you can visit: http://www.owencoxdance.org.

11:40 – Best Original Song Nominations of the 90th Annual Oscar Awards

Next up we feature songs nominated for Best Original Song at the 90th Annual Oscar Awards, airing this Sunday Night, March 4. All five of this year’s nominees for Best Original Song will be performed on the Oscars. We’ll play 4 of the 5 nominated songs.

First up we’ll hear from Common, who duets with Andra Day on “Stand Up For Something” from the film “Marshall.” The three-time Grammy champ won an Oscar in 2014 for “Glory” from the film “Selma.” Common co-wrote this new song with nine-time Oscar nominee Diane Warren.

Second we’ll play Sufjan Stevens and his song “Mystery of Love” that he composed for “Call Me by Your Name.”

Third, we’ll hear from, Mary J. Blige, who made Oscar history as the first person to be nominated for both acting and composing in the same year. The nine-time Grammy winner will perform “Mighty River,” which she co-wrote with Raphael Saadiq and Taura Stinson for the film “Mudbound, for which she is nominated for Best Supporting Actress.

Our final Best Original Song nomination is “Remember Me” from the animated film “Coco.” sung by Grammy nominee Natalia LaFourcade and Grammy winner Miguel.

16. Andra Day – “Stand Up for Something (feat. Common)”
from: Marshall (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) / Marshal Films LLC / Sept 29, 2017
[Marshall is a 2017 American biographical legal drama film directed by Reginald Hudlin and written by Michael and Jacob Koskoff. It stars Chadwick Boseman as Thurgood Marshall, the first African-American Supreme Court Justice, and focuses on one of the first cases of his career. It also stars Josh Gad, Kate Hudson, Dan Stevens, Sterling K. Brown, and James Cromwell. Cassandra Monique “Andra” Batie known professionally as Andra Day, is an American singer and songwriter from San Diego, California. Her debut album, Cheers to the Fall, was released in 2015 and peaked at number 48 on the US Billboard 200 chart. The album was nominated for Best R&B Album and the album’s main single, “Rise Up”, was nominated for Best R&B Performance at the 2016 Grammy Awards. Lonnie Rashid Lynn, Jr. (born March 13, 1972), better known as Common, is an American hip hop recording artist, actor, poet, and film producer. Common debuted in 1992 with the album Can I Borrow a Dollar? and maintained a significant underground following into the late 1990s, after which he gained notable mainstream success through his work with the Soulquarians. In 2011, Common launched Think Common Entertainment, his own record label imprint, and, in the past, has released music under various other labels such as Relativity, Geffen and GOOD Music, among others. Common’s first major-label album, Like Water for Chocolate, received widespread critical acclaim and tremendous commercial success. His first Grammy Award was in 2003, winning Best R&B Song for “Love of My Life”, with Erykah Badu. Its popularity was matched by May 2005’s Be, which was nominated for Best Rap Album, at the 2006 Grammy Awards. Common was awarded his second Grammy for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group, for “Southside” (featuring Kanye West), from his July 2007 album Finding Forever. His best-of album, Thisisme Then: The Best of Common, was released on November 27, 2007. Common won the 2015 Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song and the 2015 Academy Award for Best Original Song, for his song “Glory” from the 2014 film Selma, in which he co-starred as Civil Rights Movement leader James Bevel. Common’s acting career also includes starring significant roles in the films Smokin’ Aces, Street Kings, American Gangster, Wanted, Terminator Salvation, Date Night, Just Wright, Happy Feet Two, New Year’s Eve, Run All Night, Being Charlie, and John Wick: Chapter 2.]

17. Sufjan Stevens – “Mystery of Love”
from: Call Me By Your Name (Orig. Motion Picture Soundtrack) / Madison Gate / Nov 3, ’17
[Call Me by Your Name is a 2017 coming-of-age drama film directed by Luca Guadagnino and written by James Ivory, based on the 2007 novel of the same name by André Aciman. It is the final installment in Guadagnino’s thematic Desire trilogy, following I Am Love (2009) and A Bigger Splash (2015). Set in Northern Italy in 1983, Call Me by Your Name chronicles the romantic relationship between Elio Perlman (Timothée Chalamet), a 17-year-old living in Italy, and his father’s American assistant, Oliver (Armie Hammer). The film also stars Michael Stuhlbarg, Amira Casar, Esther Garrel, and Victoire Du Bois. Sufjan Stevens (SOOF-yan) was born July 1, 1975, and is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. His debut album A Sun Came was released in 2000 on the Asthmatic Kitty label which he cofounded with his stepfather. He is perhaps best known for his 2005 album Illinois, which hit number one on the Billboard Top Heatseekers chart, and for the single “Chicago” from that album. Stevens was born in Detroit, Michigan, and lived there until the age of nine, when his family moved to Petoskey, in the northern part of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. He was raised by his father Rasjid and his stepmother Pat, only occasionally visiting his mother, Carrie, in Oregon after she married her second husband Lowell Brams. (Brams later became the head of Stevens’ record label Asthmatic Kitty).He attended the Detroit Waldorf School, Petoskey High School and Interlochen Arts Academy, and graduated from Harbor Light Christian School. He then attended Hope College in Holland, Michigan, and earned a Masters of Fine Arts from The New School in New York City. Sufjan is a Persian name meaning “comes with a sword”. It predates Islam and most famously belonged to Abu Sufyan, a figure from early Islamic history. The name was given to Stevens by the founder of Subud, an inter-faith spiritual community to which his parents belonged when he was born. A multi-instrumentalist, Stevens is known for his use of the banjo, but also plays guitar, piano, drums, xylophone, and several other instruments, often playing all of these on his albums through the use of multitrack recording. While in school, he studied the oboe and English horn, which he also plays on his albums. Stevens did not learn to play the guitar until his time at Hope College. Stevens lives in Kensington, Brooklyn, in New York City, where he makes up the Brooklyn staff of Asthmatic Kitty Records.]

18. Mary J. Blige – “Mighty River”
from: Mudbound (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) / Netflix Studios / Nov 17, 2017
[Mudbound is a 2017 American period drama film directed by Dee Rees and written by Rees and Virgil Williams, based on the novel of the same name by Hillary Jordan. It stars Carey Mulligan, Garrett Hedlund, Jason Clarke, Jason Mitchell, and Mary J. Blige. The film depicts two World War II veterans – one white, one black – who return to rural Mississippi each to address racism and PTSD in his own way. Mary Jane Blige was born January 11, 1971. She is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, record producer, and actress. She has been honored with numerous accolades and nominations, including winning nine Grammy Awards, and being the recipient of three Golden Globe nominations including one for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Florence Jackson in Mudbound (2017), for which she also became the first woman to receive multiple Academy Award nominations in the same year including for Best Supporting Actress and Best Original Song. She started her career as a backing singer on Uptown Records in 1989. In 1992, Blige released her first album, What’s the 411?. She has released 13 studio albums, eight of which have achieved multi-platinum worldwide sales. Her album My Life is among Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, and Times All-Time 100 Albums. She received a Legends Award at the World Music Awards in 2006, and the Voice of Music Award from performance rights organization ASCAP in 2007. As of 2013, Blige has sold 75 million records worldwide. Billboard ranked Blige as the most successful female R&B/Hip-Hop artist of the past 25 years. In 2017, Billboard magazine also lists her 2006 song “Be Without You” as the most successful R&B/Hip-Hop song of all time, as it spent an unparalleled 15 weeks atop the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and over 75 weeks on the chart. In 2011, VH1 ranked Blige as the 80th greatest artist of all time. Moreover, she is ranked number 100 on the list of “100 greatest singers of all time” by Rolling Stone magazine. In 2012, VH1 ranked Blige at number 9 in “The 100 Greatest Women in Music” list. Blige starred in the 2009 Tyler Perry box-office hit I Can Do Bad All By Myself and appeared in the film Rock of Ages (2012). She received a Golden Globe Award nomination for her musical contribution to the film The Help. In 2017, she appeared in the period-drama film Mudbound, directed by Dee Rees, for which she received nominations for the Academy Award and Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress, as well as Best Original Song nods in both award contests for the film’s song “Mighty River”.]

19. Miguel – “Remember Me (Dúo) [feat. Natalia Lafourcade]”
from: Coco (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) / Walt Disney Records / November 10, 2017
[Coco is a 2017 American 3D computer-animated musical fantasy adventure film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. Based on an original idea by Lee Unkrich, it is directed by Unkrich and co-directed by Adrian Molina. The story follows a 12-year-old boy named Miguel Rivera who is accidentally transported to the land of the dead, where he seeks the help of his deceased musician great-great-grandfather to return him to his family among the living. The concept of the film is based on the Mexican holiday of the Day of the Dead. The film was scripted by Molina and Matthew Aldrich from a story by Unkrich, Jason Katz, Aldrich and Molina. Pixar began developing the animation in 2016; Unkrich and some of the film’s crew visited Mexico for inspiration. Composer Michael Giacchino, who had worked on prior Pixar animated features, composed the score. The film’s voice cast stars Anthony Gonzalez, Gael García Bernal, Benjamin Bratt, Alanna Ubach, Renée Victor, Ana Ofelia Murguía, and Edward James Olmos. It is the first-ever film with a nine-figure budget to feature an all-Latino cast, with a cost of $175–200 million. Miguel Jontel Pimentel (born October 23, 1985) is an American singer, songwriter, actor and record producer. Raised in Los Angeles, he began creating music at age thirteen. After signing to Jive Records in 2007, Miguel released his debut studio album, All I Want Is You, in November 2010. Although it was underpromoted upon its release, the album became a sleeper hit and helped Miguel garner commercial standing. After Jive’s dissolution in 2011, he moved to RCA Records and released his second studio album, Kaleidoscope Dream in 2012 to critical acclaim. On June 29, 2015, Miguel released his third studio album, Wildheart, which also received universal critical acclaim. Miguel incorporates R&B, funk, hip hop, rock and electronic styles into his music, and has been compared to vocalists Babyface and Prince. Miguel was born and raised in San Pedro, Los Angeles, California. He is one of two sons of a Mexican American father and an African American mother. María Natalia Lafourcade Silva was born February 26, 1984. She is a Mexican pop-rock singer and songwriter who since her debut in 2003 has been one of the most successful singers in the pop rock scene in Latin America. Her band’s name is Natalia y La Forquetina. Lafourcade’s voice has been categorized as a lyric soprano.]